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Boys outdo girls in Class X results
None passed in Valley’s
12 govt schools
Consistency paid off, says topper
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Infants’ death: Inquiry panel finds fault with hospital management
Army men to the rescue of stranded passengers
‘North Kashmir ready to face vagaries of winter’
Wamiq Farooq Killing
Protest against proposed shifting of Army camp
Appointment on ‘fake’ certificate: FIR registered
Chess championship concludes
Sufiana Mausiqi Mehfil held at ICCR
Army holds expedition for college students
25 fined for smoking in public
Two houses damaged as earth caves in
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Boys outdo girls in Class X results
Srinagar, December 17 The overall pass percentage is 68.20 this year as compared to 66.13% in the previous year. As many as 29,587 candidates have qualified whereas 15,483 students were not able to clear the examinations. Overall, boys did better than girls with an average pass percentage of 71.26 as compared to 64.55 per cent for girls. However, two girls - Iqra Bashir Makhdoomi of Model Public High School Sopore in south Kashmir and Samma Malik of Mallinson Girls Higher Secondary School in Srinagar - shared the top
rank by securing 99.60 per cent marks. A total of 255 students have made it to the merit list comprising the first 20 positions. The government schools have again disappointed with respect to making their mark in the merit list with almost 99 per cent of the first 20 positions secured by the private school students. Language subjects (Hindi/Urdu) have turned out to be the highest
scoring subjects with approximately 90 per cent pass percentage followed by social sciences,
science, mathematics and English, respectively. A majority (7,199) of the successful candidates in the examination have secured C 1 grade. Academicians have termed the results positive and stressed improvement in the performance of government schools. “Results show how good our education system is and that the competition is increasing sharply. Looking at these results, it would not be wrong to say that Kashmiri students are capable enough of cracking national-level examinations and make it to prestigious institutions. There is a lot of room for improvement in the performance of government schools,” said Dr Shafi Muhmamad, an educationist. report card
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None passed in Valley’s
12 govt schools
Srinagar, December 17 The results, which were announced today, showed that Government High School, Furah; Government High School, Sitahran; Government High School, Nagabal; Government High School, Yarikhah; Government High School, Tujar; Government High School, Khahmoh; Government High School, Zethan; Government High School, Achoora; Government High School, Bundamal; Government High School, Puchal; Government High School, RN Mandir, and Government boys High School, Gulab Bagh recorded zero pass percentage. Meanwhile, five students from Government Higher Secondary School, Wathora; Girls Higher Secondary School, Sagam; Government High School, Mamtribugh; Government High School, Zangalpora; and Government High School, Gangoo, have made it to the merit list of 255 students who share the first 20 positions. Interestingly, government schools in rural areas have performed better than those in urban areas with respect to the pass percentage of students. Around 10 per cent of the government schools have been able to achieve 100 per cent pass result. Experts opine that government schools still have a long way to go when it comes to achieving the desirable success rate. The reasons for dismal performance of the city schools also need to be ascertained, they say. “Despite
Srinagar offering the best possible academic environment for students as
compared to rural districts, the results have not been up to the mark
for them. The Education Department needs to strengthen its policy with
respect to monitoring the performance of these schools,” Naheed Malik,
an academician at the University of Kashmir, opined. |
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Consistency paid off, says topper
Srinagar, December 17 “I cannot spend more than two hours with books. It is just that I studied at regular intervals throughout the year. I think that is my success mantra,” Iqra said. She said topping the Class X examinations was a milestone in her career but she had her eyes set on cracking the Indian Administrative Service examinations. “This is the beginning of a career I wish to have. It is definitely encouraging when you top a state-level examination but there are greater goals to be achieved,” a joyous Iqra told The Tribune. Iqra is a student of a lesser-known school, Model Public High School in Sopore of South Kashmir, who has been topping most of her exams since kindergarten. Iqra’s father Bashir Ahmad Makhdoomi, who is currently posted in the Criminal Investigation Department of the J&K Police as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), said he was proud that his daughter had topped the first crucial examination of her life from among 49,027 candidates. “It is a big feat. I was expecting this from Iqra. She has always been good in academics,” said Bashir Ahmad. He said despite Iqra being a student of an average school, she had proved herself. “I would say, she deserved this success since she has been working hard since day one. I don’t want to force any career on her. She is free to make her choice of career and do whatever she wishes to,” Bashir Ahmad said. |
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Infants’ death: Inquiry panel finds fault with hospital management
Baramulla, December 17 The Director also dismissed the nurse who was on duty in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the hospital. He took the action against the erring officials following a report submitted by a team of three doctors probing the incident. The report, sources in the Health Department said, indicted the hospital management of mismanagement and carelessness in patient care and also found it guilty of causing infant deaths. “Based on the report submitted by the inquiry panel, the CMO and generator operator of the hospital were placed under suspension and the nurse who was on duty in the NICU was dismissed from service for negligence in discharging her duties,” said the doctor. He said the inquiry panel in its report had found that power outage for about four hours was not the only contributing factor in the infant deaths but there were other factors as well. Following the death of two infants at the hospital on Friday, the Director Health Services, Kashmir, had constituted a team of three doctors headed by Deputy Director Health Services Kashmir Dr Masooda to probe the deaths, which triggered protest against the hospital management for two consecutive days. The team submitted its report today. The bereaved parents and attendants had alleged that the life-supporting machines, including incubators and ventilators, in the NICU remained non-functional for about four hours in the absence of power leading to the death of two newborn babies. They had alleged that the hospital management failed to run the generator to make the important machines functional because the operator was absent from his duty. Following mounting pressure to probe the infant deaths, the Baramulla Deputy Commissioner had also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident yesterday. |
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Fresh snow at Gulmarg, Pahalgam
Srinagar, December 17 The minimum temperature in the city overnight was recorded at 3 degrees Celsius, which is around six degrees above normal for this time of the year, an official of the state Meteorological department said. The day temperature in the city here was recorded at 9.1 degrees Celsius, the official said. Mercury overnight in most of the region was above the freezing point with Gulmarg and Pahalgam resorts being the only exception. Both the resorts also received fresh snowfall. In Gulmarg resort of north Kashmir, the night temperature fell to minus 7.6 degrees Celsius. The Gulmarg resort has recorded moderate to heavy snowfall over the past one week. At Pahalgam resort in south Kashmir, the mercury overnight fell to minus 7.4 degrees Celsius while the day temperature there was recorded at a maximum of 6.2 degrees Celsius, the official said. Qazigund, the southern gateway town to Kashmir valley, recorded a maximum of 8.2 degrees Celsius during the day while the minimum temperature fell to minus 2 degrees Celsius. At the frontier Kupwara town in north Kashmir, the minimum temperature was recorded at 0.7 degrees Celsius while the maximum was recorded at 6.6 degrees Celsius. The Kashmir valley is gearing up for a harsh winter which is set to begin later this week when 'Chillai Kalaan' - a 40-day long harshest phase of the season - begins. |
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Army men to the rescue of stranded passengers
Srinagar, December 17 “Standing tall with the populace of J&K, Army personnel carried out the daring midnight rescue of the stranded civilians at Jawahar Tunnel on December 13,” the spokesman said. He said the heavy snowfall that night had led to the closure of Jawahar Tunnel due to which 16 vehicles carrying around 50 civilians got trapped between Zig and Jawahar Tunnel. “The road was covered with snow and hence driving on the slippery road had become difficult. On the request of the Traffic Police, Quazigund, a rescue team of the Army, comprising one officer and twenty jawans of 9 Rashtriya Rifles, was
rushed for the rescue of the helpless and stranded civilians at 11.30 pm on December 13,” the Army spokesman said. “Trapped among the civilians were newly born twins of Adil Khan, Under Secretary, Civil Secretariat, Jammu. The twins and their parents were brought to the Army Garrison, Wuzur, wherein they were provided lodging, food and medical facilities,” the spokesman said. He said the rescue team of the Army provided initial comfort to the passengers and helped them in turning their vehicles and guided them towards Srinagar. “Braving the extreme weather, the Army column evacuated all the trapped civilians to safety by 3.30 am on December 14,” he said. |
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‘North Kashmir ready to face vagaries of winter’
Kupwara, December 17 Barring the Kupwara-Karnah road, which has been blocked for traffic due to snowfall on Thursday, traffic is plying on all major roads in north Kashmir. Kupwara Deputy Commissioner Sarmad Hafeez said adequate quantities of ration and kerosene had been stocked in border areas Karnah, Keran and Machil. He said at least 13 snow-cutter machines were at their disposal for clearing snow from major roads in the district. He said snow was being cleared from the Karnah-Kupwara road near high altitude Sadha Top and Chowkibal and that the vital link would be thrown open for traffic soon. “We have already stocked enough quota of rice, sugar, flour and kerosene at depots in border areas of the district. The foodgrains and other essential commodities available in these areas are sufficient for public consumption till June this year,” said the Kupwara Deputy Commissioner. The season’s first snowfall on Thursday forced the closure of the Karnah-Kupwara road. At least four feet of snow has accumulated near Sadha Top on the only surface link connecting Karnah with Kupwara. “109 regiment of beacon is clearing the snow from the road to restore the traffic movement. The uninterrupted snowfall since Thursday is making snow clearance difficult. The road will be cleared for traffic soon if the weather improves,” said the Deputy Commissioner. He said, “Apart from nine snow cutters of the mechanical department, four other machines and JCBs of local municipal committee will be pressed into service if the need arises.” Regarding the power supply in Kupwara district, the Deputy Commissioner said a meeting of officials of the power department had been held and control rooms had been set up to ensure hassle-free supply to the people. “I have asked the officials to provide the supply as per the schedule in place. Control rooms have been set up to keep track of the power supply in the district,” he said. Baramulla Deputy Commissioner Ahmad Khawaja told The Tribune that apart from 13 snow cutters in Baramulla, eight snow cutters were available in tourist destination Gulmarg to clear the snow from roads. He said all the major roads in Baramulla were open for traffic. He said adequate quota of essential commodities had been made available for the border areas of the district. “We have enough stock available at depots across the district. The administration is fully geared to face the challenges of weather,” he said. A senior official in Bandipora said ration and other essential commodities were available at all depots. |
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Wamiq Farooq Killing
Srinagar, December 17 These directions were issued today by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Srinagar, after submissions by the prosecution that despite repeated summons the civilian witnesses in the case are not appearing before the SIT for recording their statements. “Witnesses were being told to appear before the SIT, but they did not appear. Therefore, the IO (investigation officer) is within his powers to procure the attendance of the witnesses before the SIT”, the CJM observed in his orders passed today. Earlier on December 1, following submissions by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that certain witnesses were not coming forward for giving their views in Wamiq Farooq’s killing case, the CJM had said warrants may be issued against such witnesses, if approached by the SIT. On the other hand, in his defense, advocate Ajaz a Dar, the counsel representing the victim’s family, submitted that the witnesses are reluctant to appear before the SIT as they (witnesses) fear that the SIT may write down “contradictory statements” on behalf of the witnesses. “I told the court that the SIT is not recording what the witnesses say while giving their statements. Instead, the SIT writes contradictory statements”, Ajaz said. Wamiq, a Class VII student, was allegedly killed due to a teargas shell fired by the police on January 31, 2010, in Srinagar. The family of the deceased has maintained that Wamiq was killed after the police fired teargas shell that hit his head, while he was playing carrom on a street near Gani Memorial Stadium, Srinagar. It has been demanding registration of a murder case against the accused police officers. On the other hand, the police has named Wamiq as a ‘miscreant’ in its FIR. The case file
CJM’s observation
Witnesses were being told to appear before the SIT, but they did not appear. Therefore, the IO (investigation officer) is within his powers to procure the attendance of the witnesses before the
SIT |
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Protest against proposed shifting of Army camp
Handwara, December 17 The protesters, including children and women, blocked the Handwara-Zachaldara road for about four hours and did not allow any traffic movement. They demanded that the camp should be relocated in some forest land away from human habitation. They raised slogans against the Army and the civil administration. “We will not allow the Army to grab our agriculture land for shelter. The land is the only source of our livelihood,” said a protester. They alleged that the Army had already delayed payment for their land under occupation. The protesters belonged to villages, including Sultanpora Kahipora, Yamrad, Ahgam, Rajpora, Shadigam and Chandigam. Another protester said, “We are being paid peanuts for the land under the Army’s occupation. We will not allow shifting of the camp to nearby fields. The authorities should instead shift the camp to a forest area.” The Tehsildar and the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Handwara, later visited the spot. The protesters were pacified after repeated assurances by the officers that the camp would be relocated suitably away from the village. ADC Handwara Mir Hussian said, “We will look into the matter. The camp will be relocated suitably so that the people don’t suffer any problem.” |
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Appointment on ‘fake’ certificate: FIR registered
Srinagar, December 17 “The Crime Branch received a complaint from Sajad Ibrahim of Daramdoora-Shopian alleging that officials of the SSRB Srinagar and Government Dental College Srinagar have fraudulently appointed Tariq Maqbool Bhat, son of Mohammad
Maqbool Bhat, a resident of Mohammadpora-Kulgam, as a housekeeper in open merit category
on the basis of fake and fabricated certificates,” the FIR states. “On verification of the certificates, it was found that the Central Board of Higher Education, to which the certificate is attributed, is a fake
board. In this manner, the accused, Tariq Maqbool, was found to have dishonestly acted and fraudulently managed his selection as a housekeeper by producing fake and forged documents
as genuine ones,” the FIR adds. The FIR in the case was registered following replies of the Public
Information Officers (PIOs) of the Services Selection Board and Government Dental College, Srinagar to two
Right to Information (RTI) applications moved by Sajad Ibrahim, a resident of Daramdoora
in south Kashmir’s Shopian district. |
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Chess championship concludes
Srinagar, December 17 Abdul Rouf Dar of Bemina, Reyaz Ahmad of Mehjoor Nagar and Umar Majeed of Safakadal were declared winners in the open category. Burhan Nazir Mir and Muhammad Hamza of Bemina and Kamran Allahi of Safakadal were declared winners in the under-15 category. In the
under-20 category, Momin Mushtaq of Lal Bazaar, Basharat Hussain Wani of Rambagh and Khalid Mehraj of Nowpora were the winners. In the girls’ category, Farhana Mehraj of Nowpora, Rukaya of Chatabal and Shayista of Tengpora were declared winners. Srinagar SSP Ashiq
Hussain Bukhari and SP City (West) Sunil Gupta distributed trophies and mementos among
the winners. |
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Sufiana Mausiqi Mehfil held at ICCR
Srinagar, December 17 The event was
presided over by Gyan Peethe awardee Prof Rehman Rahee. The Saznawaz Gharana presented a variety of Sufiana Kalam both in Persian and Kashmiri to the delight of Sufiana music lovers. The highlight of the presentation was rendering of Rahee’s modern Kashmiri verses in Sufiana style. Regional Director, ICCR Kashmir, Ayaz Rasool Nazki informed about a string of events being organised during the winters in the Valley. Deputy Director, Radio Kashmir, Bashir Arif while commending work of the centre offered to provide broadcasting support to the efforts of the ICCR in enhancing the cultural life of the region. Prominent among those present on the occasion were Farooq Nazki, Aziz Hajni, Saleem Beigh, MI Nazki , Rattan Talashi, Irfan Yaseen. |
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Army holds expedition for college students
Srinagar, December 17 An Army official said the tour comprising 25 students was organised to promote understanding between the Army and locals and “to sensitise students with the beauty of peace and spirit of real freedom”. “The touring group of students exhibited great enthusiasm and happiness during the visit. The teachers accompanying the students said that this tour had, in a true sense, motivated these young Kashmiri minds to choose the right path in their life,” the Army official said. The students visited various places of historical importance in Jaipur and Ajmer, including Jantar Mantar, City Palace, Birla Mandir, Hawa Mahal, Amer Fort and Ajmer
Sharief. |
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25 fined for smoking in public
Srinagar, December 17 He said a fine of Rs 5,800 was recovered from the smokers by the Anti Tobacco Squad (ATS) team headed by Food Safety Officer Kashmir Shabir Ahmed Lone. The squad inspected several public places and offices at Magam and Narbal in central Kashmir’s Budgam district besides Lal Ded Hospital here. Twelve shopkeepers selling tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions were also
challaned. — TNS |
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Two houses damaged as earth caves in
Srinagar, December 17 Both the structures developed cracks when the “ground near the houses that are situated on the banks of the Jhelum caved in”, the spokesman said. No one was injured in
the incident, the spokesman added. |
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